POLICE are urging snow motorists to slow down to and from Mt Hotham and Falls Creek alpine resorts.
It follows a major road policing operation which detected more than 500 offences by motorists heading to the North East alpine areas.
Operation Eastern Snow saw police highly visible and enforcing on roads heading to and from snowfields including Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mt Buller.
Buses and heavy vehicles were also a major focus during the operation, with almost 20 per cent of offences detected issued to heavy vehicles not complying with log book entries, excessive loads and failure to secure loads.
Police also detected 247 speeding offences, with the majority of these issued to drivers speeding between 10km/h and 25km/h over the speed limit.
Eastern Region Road Policing Inspector, Jarrad Dowswell, urged motorists travelling to the snow to slow down, remain alert on unfamiliar roads and allow plenty of extra travel time, especially during busy periods.
“It’s concerning that we’ve seen such high levels of noncompliance on the roads by motorists travelling to and from the snowfields,” he said.
“Some of these roads have been significantly impacted by ice and snow, yet we continue to catch people for speeding and engaging in dangerous behaviours that puts all road users at risk.”
There were two drug driving offences detected from 148 roadside drug tests and no drink driving offences were detected from 1149 preliminary breath tests.
Police reminded motorists heading to the snow they are required to carry snow chains and fit them when instructed by authorities
“Wheel chains are essential for navigating roads impacted by ice and snow, and can be the difference between remaining safely on the road or losing control and being involved in a serious collision,” Inspector Dowswell said.
“Already this season several vehicles have become stuck requiring vehicle occupants to be rescued, because they were not carrying snow chains and were unequipped to deal with the conditions.
“It’s been great to receive feedback from locals in these communities that our enforcement efforts have had a positive impact, with majority of vehicles travelling more slowly through towns and adhering to the road rules.”
Failure to carry chains may result in a $370 fine, while not fitting them could lead to a $970 penalty.
Police are also asking motorists to check and remove snow from their vehicles before departing the snowfields, to avoid it being dislodged while moving and creating dangerous driving conditions for other road users.
Police have also responded to multiple rescues since the start of the snow season, including a stranded hiker on Mount Feathertop on July 27.
